Howdy! Hope you all had a great break. It can be hard to come back, but we have a lot of good work to do in the next 2 weeks before the class ends!
FOR MONDAY: Read the following two short but strange readings. We’ll finish those last two minutes of The Twilight Zone and then talk about Bauldrillard and the Simulacra – it goes really well with the episodes we watched! On Wednesday we’ll start reading the short stories of Ben Okri.
Borges: ” On exactitude in Science”(One Paragraph)”exactitude
What comes first – the territory or Google Maps?
Is 3D printed Ice Cream Ice Cream?
Baudrillard – 2 page Excerpt from Simulacra and Simulation simulacra_excerpt
Film Review Blog post – POST HERE AS A COMMENT
ENGL 371 - Magic Realism 
I’m not sure where to leave the Run Lola Run blog post, so I’ll just post it here.
Run Lola Run was a short and interesting movie, but I’m not entirely sure what the point of it was. It opens up in a very hectic scene that is packed and busy with people. The opening cartoon credits seems very 90’s with the way the text wiggles, the Vs in the spiral, and the way the drawing is of the girl. The music during the character credits sounds like it’s for an action movie that’s going to have heavy suspense and tension in it. The music is racing. The movie also has interesting video angles. They’re kinda weird to the point where I couldn’t even feel like I was part of the movie because it kept changing so much; I felt disconnected. Examples: spinning camera view of Lola, photographs of the lady on the street who called Lola a bitch, the photographs show a span of time in the lady’s life. Same photograph deal with the guy on the bike who offers to sell it to Lola. Same with the lady in her dad’s office hallway. The split screen effect was cool because it shows two frames instead of just one which is usual in movies.
I would say that the magic realism aspect of this movie is that Lola and Manni get to go through 3 different realities of time. Each time they “die,” they get to redo the scenario. The movie’s ending was nice because neither of them died, they got the money back from the bum, and Lola also won them 100,000 extra at poker.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This movie was enjoyable. I like how it was fast paced and kept you on your toes. It showed me how one decision you make in a brief second can change the minutes and hours of your life, whether it be good or bad. The only difference is in real life we can’t rewind and go back to try and do something different when the outcome fails. Which in a way could suck depending on how you look at it, but I truly feel that every decision we make is a lesson. The whole if at first you don’t succeed, just don’t do the same stupid thing again. Our choices are life lessons. (This movie reminded me of a video game or something of that nature)I’m glad it had a nice peaceful ending, in regard to some of the movies we have seen this semester in this class.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seeing Run Lola Run for the first time was an interesting experience to say the least. I think that the plot of the movie was somewhat empty, but it seemed to try to impart importance on small details of the movie rather than develop a strong plot. One thing, I noticed was the apparent domino effect that Lola’s various course of actions had on herself, others she came in contact with, and the outcome of the scene. For instance, because she was late, there was a car crash, which then led to Manni sticking up the store, and so on and so on. I found myself rooting for her to get things right the second time around. One of the most frustrating parts of the movie to me is seeing her pass by the man who stole Manni’s money from the train not once, but two times.
What I thought was an interesting touch to the movie were the visions of the future shown of passerbys on Lola’s run, and the possibilities that their interaction had on altering their future. I think that the opening questions posed, “Who are we ? Where do we come from ? Where are we going ? How do we know what we think we know ?” and the apparent discontentment in marriage and family life her father experiences raise some of the same questions that Haruki Murakami tackles in a lot of his work as well. After Lola’s three runs, I think it’s normal to wonder which of those realities is real and which is not. Overall, I enjoyed the movie, despite the fact that once Lola was on her third run I became pretty annoyed with the movie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Once again the movie we watch connects well with the Philosophy class I’m taking right now. The movie revolves a lot around the themes of free will vs determinism and epistemology, or the study of knowledge. It also has an interesting take on one of my favorite themes, the butterfly effect which always leads to interesting stories. I liked the way that it showed multiple ways that a situation could go and how seemingly small interactions can effect people in different ways. It seemed to show the infinite possibilities people have in their lives, both in their own actions and in their interactions with others. For such a fast paced movie it did a pretty good job of giving you something to think about and having deeper meanings. Overall I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I was going to, and thought it was pretty good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The film Run Lola Run is a beautiful rendering of time in film media. The shots were both revived techniques and experimental ones that really left me feeling anxious. The shots in the movie that I appreciate the most for their artistry are the times in Lola’s pursuit where she runs into seemingly random people. The camera zooms in on their faces and then proceeds to show “snapshots” of what their lives would be like in this timeline or version of events. As the timeline changes, their lives also change, and by the conclusion, their lives change for the better. Other artistic shots were during Lola’s running scenes which, as you said, left me exhausted. Seeing Lola run in almost every scene both made me want to start working out more and lie on the couch and stay lazy forever.
The film story line is simple in theory, but revelations about Lola’s character along the way show viewers that she is not ordinary. At first we believe she is a thief, then a lover, then a broken daughter, and finally, a headstrong protagonist. Viewers can see that the goal of Lola’s run/race is not so much to find and deliver one hundred thousand Deutsche marks, but to be loved. She needs confirmation of Manni, her father/mother, and from herself. We can all relate to Lola in this way. Finally, the symbols of time throughout the film are magnificently displayed by the filmography. Many spirals and curved lines are used to show time as more than just one straight line. As shown in the film, Lola’s story in not point A to point B as most movies are. She goes from A to B, back to A then C, and finally A to D. She is not traveling through man-made time, but in the vortex of time. I found this representation of time in film media to be expertly crafted and extremely interesting to view. I could honestly write an entire analysis of this film. Thank you Dr. Oldfield for showing it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The first time I viewed Run Lola Run, it was on a site that did not have English captions. Even then I recognized what I identified as a major theme of the film, which has to do with life and chance. It seems to be depicting life as spontaneous and dependent on the smallest reactions to events which could go many different ways. This is why in each of the wormholes of possible outcomes Lola runs through, there is a shift in the viewer’s understanding of her life, sympathy/dislike of certain characters, and ultimately the fate of Lola and her boyfriend. I really enjoyed following the outcomes of what happens when she did or didn’t get tripped on the steps, or hit by the car. Reminds me of a concept from Cortazar, about life being both enchanting and disenchanting. In the movie, both the most bizarre and least bizarre occurrences have both drastic and meaningless effects on human life. This is something that is shown quite clearly through the actions and scenes the movie depicts, which is why I was able to discern some interpretation, even before viewing the film with English subtitles.
Also I’m a huge fan of movies that blend real world and cartoon world, in ways which are strategic, and I believe this film does just that, without doing it too much! Love this movie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Both enchanting and disenchanting – nice!
LikeLike
This short film was interesting and definitely kept my attention all the way through. I liked that from the beginning the audience was made aware that time would be a major theme and this was shown by the pendulum rocking back and forth and the ticking sound. The fast-paced spooky/action music also hinted that time is important and maybe something bad would happen when it ran out. The sped up scene of people moving about also relates to the theme of time and there were also a few instances that led me to believe that time isn’t cyclical, like 100 Years of Solitude. This film is a lot like a video game; When time ran out they died but had multiple more lives to complete their mission. I enjoyed the different angles used throughout and i think it added to the chaotic, on edge feeling I shared with the characters. While I’m not completely sure there is a point to this story I think it did a great job of getting me to challenge my own reality and concept of time.
LikeLike
I liked the movie. I thought it was thrilling and very well done. It reminded me of Rashonon because of the different ways they told the story. Each way they changed something so it brings new ideas to light. I liked how it commented on the different realities of time and space. The movie was not necessarily about getting to the destination but the journey and different perceptions of time and the journey.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Okay, I think this is where I am supposed to post about Run Lola Run. If not I’m sorry:) Well I would say this could be the most confusing movie we might have watched in this class so far. I did like how that time obviously played a huge element in the film, but I think that it was also different in how that it was almost a character itself in the movie. I think that the racing, high intense elements of the movie helped really keep the viewer engaged, from the fast paced music that would get your heart racing to the chaotic scenes with so many people it really made the movie seem like a thriller. I am not sure that I would nessecarily consider this movie magic realism except for the passage and different time periods that Lola and Manni go through, but I am not sure that I would say it’s magic realism more along the lines of science fiction. The film reminded me of a video gam or even like Spy Kids where the characters become players in a game. It was cool to see how time was measured and how you got so many ‘lifes’. I liked how this movie was more modern, I think it shows how time is not just a straight line for even individuals.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right – not pure Magic Realism, but it does resonate with Garden of Forking Paths (all the outcomes exist!) and with Murakami’s themes too. She is exactly like a player in a game, though, you’re right about that!
LikeLike
I found the film intriguing. I thought it was interesting how they combined the animated version of Lola into the film, but I did not understand the purpose. The technique reminded me of 1900s Looney Tunes films because that is when the technique gained popularity. It also caused me to consider the possibility of Lola having super powers, not only because she was the heroine of the film, but how the audience witnessed snapshots of the lives of other characters when Lola encountered them. Initially, I thought the purpose of this was to illustrate how each person is corrupted to a degree in order to normalize Manni’s actions. For example, the old woman kidnapping the child and her father having an affair. After watching the entirety of the movie, I do not quite think this is the ultimate purpose of the snapshots.
One of my favorite parts of the film was the introduction. I loved when the narrator asked the audience various questions such as “Who are we?” and “Where do we come from?” because of my philosophy background. I find existential questions an interesting topic, and something that is haunts humans. I think this film emphasizes these questions and attempts to answer them in a way. The film shows how one slight change can have the biggest impact on the outcome. I think answering these questions is the purpose of the audience having glimpses into others lives. Lola takes her own fate and Manni’s into her own hands, and does everything in her power to change it. I think this message is important, and sort of responds to the questions “Where do we come from?” Most people would answer from a divine being, but this film really emphasizes the power of the individual.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like your question about the animation, becuase I wonder about that too – Perhaps to emphasize the creativity we have to make, and remake ourselves? The fact that the animation is on the television kind of puts Lola in the simulacrum anyway!
LikeLike
I really enjoyed this film because I liked how fast paced it was. I found myself waiting eagerly to see what Lola would do differently the next opportunity she got. The music throughout the film built energy and suspense. I also thought the beginning of the film was really clever. The beginning gave the movie the “life is a game” type of feel. The questions asked in the beginning by the narrator also set up viewers to look deeper into the meaning of the events that followed. The flashbacks in the lives of the people Lola ran by was a nice touch. In a way I think that the purpose of the flashbacks was to continue the theme of cause and effect but it was also like mini-side plots in this fast paced film. My favorite part was by far the ending! I was honestly not expecting a happy ending like that, but it left me satisfied.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The film reminded me of Trainspotting throughout. 90’s European vibe, lots of illicit/illegal activity, creepy electronic music, and so on. The magic realist elements are of course there as well. There are the creepier parts when Lola runs past seemingly mundane passersby and a series of photos would flash upon the screen to make a back story implicit. Whenever she screams, a glass of some sort shatters. After she is shot, she mutters “Ich will nicht weg” and is restarted video game style back to her house, after which she runs through a number of the same scenarios again. Needless to say, she gets in serious cardio throughout the movie. Her image seems to be archetypal in a way I can’t exactly place or name as well. With the red hair and basic yet immediately recognizable getup, she seems like she could also be a main character in a video game or at least have her own action figure.
This film does a number of things well. It repackages the romanticized crime couple in a fresh way. It was nice to see Moritz Bleibtreu (who I’d first seen in the Baader – Meinhof Complex) play another crime-bent character. Except in this one, you seem to sympathize a little more with the characters. This go round, the viewer sees how much can change if only one could have adjusted positioning in events a handful of minutes, something I’m sure we all wish we could’ve done. Just hopefully not for the purpose of robbing a bank or holding our dads at gunpoint.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought this movie was really interesting both in story line and in cinematography. I liked the different versions of the same story we see take place (that reminded me a lot of Rashomon but I think knowing that they were all plausible and not just one person or another’s lie made me like it more). I felt that the characters were easy to want to root for, and even though a lot of the movie leaves the watcher (at least I was) rather confused, I think it works really well with this piece as an element of the all the chaos that serves a purpose beyond deception. I also could not help but think of things like the butterfly effect when considering the reasons things went differently in each new version of the story with little things causing things to take on a whole new direction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The film was really interesting and I liked how it was in like three parts and each part had a different outcome and what not. I just didn’t like the way it ended. I don’t think that was much closure for the movie at all. The movie reminded me of how events can cause certain things to happen and that everything is ultimately connected. It also reminded me of how everything happens for a reason even though we don’t know what that reason is for. I thought it was interesting how the first two runs had either Lola or Manni dying, which made me sad for their relationship but it ultimately made the whole thing pointless in a way. The whole reason for the run was to get the money to give to Manni so he can give it to Ronnie so Mannie doesn’t get killed by him. If Lola died then it was like her helping him was for nothing and if Manni died it was also the same way. Like their actions were in vain to me. I definitely liked the last run a lot better because it seemed like everything had a much better outcome, Lola’s father doesn’t disown her, she wins the money and Manni doesn’t die. Except the bad ending and her father’s death it was a good last part to the movie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The way that the director filmed the movie was unique in that it kept me feeling worn out, and the breaks in between Lola running was a good break from that. It was also interesting to see how minor changes affected other people affecting other people just because their timing changes a little bit. While I understood the way in which time went back and Lola was able to repeat events, I am curious if she was aware of time reversing or not; though perhaps it does not matter. Another unexplained bit of magic was her screaming which could shatter glass, which was seen in the gambling building, but I am not sure what it did for the story other than express rage. We’re not left with adequate explanations, and perhaps that is rightfully so.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Run Lola Run is a 1998 German thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. The film was released on August 20, 1998. Lola who is the main character in the film who gets a call from her boyfriend who is Manni. Manni was a bit of a trouble maker he got 100,000 for a crime he recently committed. She seemed to me like a “rider” (someone who holds their man down through thick and thin) because she agreed to take her boyfriend to drop the money off until her moped was stolen on the way to meet him. Manni ended up catching a subway only to leave the money on the train once he got off because of not having a ticket. Manni gets in contact with Lola and they must get 100,000 to his boss Roni or he would be killed. He had plans to rob the supermarket but Lola decides to ask her dad who is a bank manager. Lola ended up winning the money and Manni didn’t die but her father did die. The film is then divided into three runs of Lola with breaks in between each one. I felt this film was a little better to understand. I watched clips of the film through YouTube. So, it was more precise and broken down to gain a better sense of what is going on. The film was very interesting and I enjoyed watching it.
LikeLike
“Run Lola Run” was an interesting film to watch although it did get both exhausting and confusing at times. Each of the three “versions” of Lola’s run was different from one another but those differences didn’t completely take anything away from the overall experience with the two versions of Lola’s run that followed the first one feeling like a “What If..” story on steroids with the fast-paced energy and musical accompaniment. The beginning of the film was a nice “calm before the storm” as well an interesting part of this film too and it did cause me to think an reflect on my life with regard to the questions being posed by the narrator. When the animation came into play soon after the start of the film and in a couple of other parts throughout the film as well struck me as a sort of game plan scenario for just how Lola was going to avoid all these obstacles that were in her way out of the apartment building in which she liv. I really liked the animated parts and honestly wished I could have seen that sort of storytelling device used a little bit more in other parts of the film like how Lola would or could get from the bank to the store that Manni was looking to ro. The animated moments were a fun yet relatable thing to see after all who among us has not visualized in some way in our mind just how we’re going to get from point A to point B in our daily lives? Overall, I found the film to be interesting, fun,thought provoking (in thinking about yourself/your own life among other things like other ways Lola could have gotten to her destination faster), and after all that vicarious running around with Lola-tiring (but in a good way).
LikeLike
I really enjoyed “Run Lola Run”. Seeing different versions of the same story really outs time in perspective. I think people have the “what if” mentality lingering with them all of the time. Every time something goes wrong, we’re quick to say “what if” or place blame, Kind of like how Manni was blaming Lola over the phone about her not being where she said she was on time. I like how gaming/animation was tied into the movie because in video games when you don’t level up or if you die you have an opportunity for a do-over. I also liked that the narrator asked thought provoking questions, it keeps the viewer more aware in a movie that is fast paced and thrilling. I thought it was interesting that her scream shattered glass, it definitely took me by surprise. The camera angles were excellent, and in a movie that is all about perspectives and constructing a certain moment a certain way I think cinematography is very important. I also like that the film makes you identify with the characters, even though these people are criminals the viewer is rooting for them. All in all, I really liked this movie and would highly recommended to anyone.
LikeLike